


I Believe You

by roaming4040



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Depression, Homoerotic Undertones - Freeform, Hospitalization, M/M, Medical, Medical Kink, Mental Hospitals, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Possessive Matthew, Will is caught in a love triangle once again, incarceration
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-01-07 10:40:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12231201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roaming4040/pseuds/roaming4040
Summary: During Will's incarceration at Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, tensions rise between the nurses as some get more protective of Will than others.





	1. Chapter 1

“How do you feel, Mr Graham?” Dr Frederick Chilton’s voice echoed in Will Graham’s mind.

The doctor stood across from him, hand clutching his sturdy, wooden cane and awaiting an answer from his drugged-up patient.  
Will sat, arms and legs strapped to a metal chair bound to the floor, with an IV needle in the crook of his elbow feeding him with God knows what.

“Mr Graham, I want you to look at me,” Chilton barked, picking up the clipboard off the side table and eyeing Will’s medical record for the day.

Will strained to life his heavy head and make eye-contact with the doctor.

“I asked you a question,” Chilton reminded. “How do you feel?”

“I can’t feel anything,” Will replied groggily.

“Could you elaborate a bit more?” Chilton asked, a low undertone of frustration under his voice.

“I feel numb…I can’t feel my limbs.” Will explained softly.

“Emotionally, how do you feel?” Chilton asked.

“…I…I feel trapped…” Will finally confessed.

“Trapped because you know that what you did was real and there is no way to escape your fate? Or trapped in your mind?” Chilton asked.

Will frowned and grimaced up at the doctor.  
“Because I…I can’t move…” Will reiterated.

Chilton sighed angrily and set down his clipboard and walked up to Will. Even though Will was clearly restrained and drugged out of his mind, Chilton still approached him with caution.

“Will, the purpose of these sessions are to uncover past memories. The sodium pentothal is to help you. Try your best to explain exactly what is going through your mind right now. I’m going to ask you again- How do you feel?” Chilton repeated.

Will furrowed his brow and looked down at his wrists, bound to the chair’s arms with sheepskin restraints. He tugged lightly against them and flexed his hands, watching as his veins bulge and bones shift under his pale skin.

“I feel empty,” Will finally spoke. “Like a husk.”

“Could it be you killed those girls to feel less empty?— To fill whatever void inside you that was swallowing you up?” Chilton questioned. “I never killed any of those girls,” Will snapped, his hands curling into fists.

“Yes, you did. Denying it will only be detrimental to your treatment.”  
“I didn’t do it!” Will yelled back.  
“You don’t remember doing it, but you did. My job is to help you remember,” Chilton said angrily.  
“I can’t remember something I didn’t do…” Will mumbled.

Chilton frowned and picked up the clipboard and pen. Under “Patient: Will Graham, Day 36: Session #12,” Chilton scribbled: “Unproductive.”

“There are consequences for non-compliance, Mr Graham. I’m expecting progress soon, or else I’ll have to take further action,” he warned. Chilton snapped his fingers and two burly men in white uniforms entered the room with a wheelchair.

They approached Will and unstrapped him from the metal chair, disconnected him from the IV and plopped him down in the wheelchair roughly. They wrapped a single canvas strap around his chest to prevent him from falling out of the chair, as they rolled him out of the room and down the corridor.  
Will tried to lift his arms and struggle, but whatever Chilton gave him made his limbs feel like jelly.

They rolled him down the main cell block where other inmates would shout and sweat as he was wheeled past. When they finally arrived at Will’s cell, one guard opened the large barred door and the other rolled the patient through.

The guards unstrapped him from the chair, lifted him, and laid him down on the cot, arms laying at his sides limply.

“Will?” A friendly voice arose from down the hall.  
Will opened his eyes and tilted his head up towards the gate.

A short, squat man with a round, kind face and dark skin appeared in the doorway, smiling softly with a small medical bag in hand.

“Barney…” Will mumbled, trying to sit up but to no avail.

“Don’t try and get up. I’m just here to get your vitals,” The nurse named Barney spoke, pacing through through the doorway and nodding silently to the guards who let him pass.  
Will sighed and laid back down on the cot as Barney kneeled down beside him and took his wrist to check his pulse.

Barney was the only nurse at Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane that treated Will like an actual person. He’d come by on his shift and have conversations with Will, reminding him that he’s human and not just a caged animal for Chilton to poke and prod. It was one of the only glimmer of sunshine in Will’s rainy life.

“How was today’s session?” Barney asked.

Will shrugged.

“He’s been drugging you during the sessions again, hasn’t he? The sodium pentothal slows down your pulse— I can tell. I tell ya, I would stand up for you if it didn’t mean losing my position.” Barney whispered to him as he held Will’s limp wrist, counting the moments between each, slow pulse.

“I don’t know what to do ‘bout it…” Will slurred, letting his eyes softly shut from exhaustion.

“I know, I know…” Barney coo’d.  
“So I’m going to guess it wasn’t a good session.” Barney commented, writing down

“Yeah, it was bad,” Will answered.

“Bad?” Barney hummed, reaching into his medical bag to pull out a black blood-pressure cuff and wrapping it around Will’s right bicep.

“I shouldn’t be in here,” Will grumbled, wincing as the cuff inflated around his arm.

“I know…” Barney replied softly.

“No, I’m serious! I didn’t kill those girls!” Will barked, raising his voice and sitting up slightly.

The guards behind them straightened their posture a bit, becoming more wary of Will’s actions.

“Please, calm down, Will-“ Barney spoke up, putting a hand over Will’s chest and encouraging him to lay back down. “You wouldn’t want Chilton’s dogs to interfere…” He whispered, eyeing the men in white coats.

“I don’t belong here. None of this is right,” Will explained, lowering his voice.

Barney sighed and unwrapped the cuff and placed it back in his bag. He picked up a stethoscope from his medical bag and placed each earpiece in his ears. He gently reached over and unbuttoned the first few buttons on Will’s park bench-green uniform. Will silently appreciated Barney’s comfort in handling him. By not recoiling or acting visibly nervous around him, it made him feel less like the prisoner he was.

“Take a deep breath please,” Barney directed, sliding the cool disk under Will’s uniform and placing it over Will’s pectoral.

Will took in a breath, but his emotions took control over him and he let it out with a whimper.

Barney paused and looked down at Will and noticed that he was beginning to cry.

“What do I have to do to get someone to believe me?” Will whined, tears welling up in his pale green eyes. Barney listened closely to his elevated heartbeat before finally speaking up.

Barney turned briefly to the guards and then lowered his voice to a whisper so only Will could hear. 

“…I believe you, Will.” 

Will sniffled and looked up at the nurse. “You do?”

“You’re not like any other patient I’ve worked with. I don’t believe you have the mind of a killer,” Barney explained. He paused and looked down at Will’s chest again. “Your heartbeat…it slowed down just now,” the nurse commented quietly.

Will choked back a sob and tossed his head against the pillow underneath him.

Barney finally raised his voice to normal volume and stood up with his medical bag in hand. 

“I’ll give you some space,” Barney said quietly, turning to leave, stethoscope still around his neck.

“Wait-“ Will called, grabbing Barney’s wrist.

“Hey!” The guards yelled, approaching the bars. Inmates touching visitors- hospital staff or otherwise— was strictly forbidden and could be punishable.

Will let go of the nurse’s hand but made clean eye contact with him as Barney was quickly escorted out.

“Thank you,” Will called to him as he left and the bars were shut, leaving Will alone to himself once again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matthew gets jealous...

Nurse Matthew Brown peered down at the security camera feed from Will’s cell and scowled as he watched Barney work so gently with Will.

In the many weeks that Will had been in treatment at the Baltimore State Hospital for the criminally insane, Matthew had developed a deep fascination with the patient. Will was quiet, mysterious, and devastatingly handsome, and Matthew was immediately intrigued from day 1. He had never felt this way about a patient before. As soon as Matthew was officially designated Will’s primary nurse, he made a clear effort to gain Will’s trust. He tried to talk to Will, or get Will to talk to him. He would try to spend as much time with him as possible and be at Will’s every call. He even asked if he could deliver Will’s meals to him so Will would subconsciously associate him with food or reward and thus find him more of an ally than a guard. None of it seemed to work. Will would refuse to talk to him most of the time or turn away when he would walk by his cell. Matthew genuinely lost sleep thinking about why he wasn’t favorable with his favorite patient, or what about him was repelling to hi, which was why he was absolutely furious watching Barney, a nurse who had only been on Will’s case for a week or two, gain Will’s acknowledgement and trust so quickly.

 _“I don’t belong here. None of this is right,”_ Will’s voice sighed.

Matthew frowned and watched in confusion as Barney gently undid Will’s top buttons on his jumpsuit.

He could never remember Will letting him get that close.

 _“Take a deep breath please,”_ Barney’s voice directed in the video as he listened to his heart beat.

 _“What do I have to do to get someone to believe me?”_ Will’s voice echoed under a sob.

Matthew paused and turned back to the video curiously. He had never seen Will so…vulnerable before. He watched as Barney leaned down to whisper something to Will that was inaudible for the camera to pick up, and immediately after, Will’s small pixilated face melted completely into a soft smile. Matthew watched, absolutely fuming as Will grabbed Barney’s wrist and muttered a soft _“thank you.”_

Matthew angrily turned away from the tapes, resting his elbows on his knees and angrily running his hands through his short, black, greasy hair. Will was his patient. Barney had no right to try and take what was his.

He quickly stood up, grabbed his white coat from the door hanger, and rushed out into the main hallway. He speed-walked down the vacant, white corridor, firmly set on whatever he was bound to do. He had a turn towards the main cell block and spotted Barney beside the two guards walking back up the way he came. He made firm eye contact with the short, chubby nurse, gaze piercing through his, as they passed each other.

 

Matthew finally made his way to Will’s cell. He was quietly resting on his side on the sturdy cot, still heavily drugged.

“Graham!” Matthew barked, banging a fist against the bars to startle him.

Will barely flinched.

“Mr Graham!” Matthew yelled again.

 _“What…”_ Will grumbled, curling up tighter in on himself.

“What was that just now?” Matthew asked angrily.

Will didn’t respond.

“What did he say to you?!” Matthew yelled.

“I don’t have to talk to you about anything,” Will grumbled.

“Yes, you do. I’m in charge of you, remember. You will do as I say. Now tell me what he said to you!” Matthew exclaimed.

 

Will lifted his head and glared at the nurse, holding strict eye contact before angrily resting his head back on the cot again.

Matthew glanced back down the empty hall towards the entrance where nurses and doctors entered and exited from.

“I can make it worth your while…” Matthew said calmly, turning back to Will.

Will frowned and slowly sat up, attempting to gain some stability in the storm of dizziness he was experiencing.

“What could someone like you do for me?” he slurred.

“I could tell you when Chilton is going to hold one of his special therapy sessions. The ones where he gives you the drugs. It won’t change when or how they happen, but it’ll give you some security—hopefully make things seem a little less unpredictable.” Matthew explained.

 

Will just stared at Matthew in confusion.

 

“I can do more than you think,” he added calmly.

“…Why are you doing this?” Will asked.

“I-I care about you, Will. I really do.” Matthew confessed.

 

Will stared at the nurse in absolute silence before finally speaking up.

“He told he believed me, ok?” Will explained. “He said he believed that I wasn’t a killer.”

Matthew raised an eyebrow in skepticism.

“Really…” he mumbled.

“Yeah…That’s it. _Now_ will you leave me alone?” Will snarled.

Matthew sighed, nodded softly and left.

 

He had greater matters to attend to now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 is on the way!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matthew quickly tells off Barney.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry short chapter today guys! The next chapter is where things start to turn...

Matthew was fuming. ‘There had to be a rule against trying to befriend patients,’ he thought. Perhaps it could count as inappropriate behavior? Either way, Matthew knew he was insanely jealous and had to set the record straight with Barney about boundaries. 

 

Barney sat in the break room, snacking on a turkey sandwich he’d brought from home before he heard a disgruntled Matthew busted through the door. The shorter, skinny nurse turned and met eyes with Barney as he slowly approached his table.

 

“Nurse Brown…Matthew is it?” Barney spoke up.

 

“Don’t try and cozy up to me, Barney. I know what you’re about,” Matthew barked.

 

“…Excuse me?” Barney replied, utterly confused.

 

“I’ve seen all the tapes. Don’t think nobody’s listening.”

 

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about…” was all Barney could say.

 

“Graham! Will Graham! Cozying up to him won’t win you any points or make you any safer. He’s a cold-blooded killer and a master manipulator- and he’s my patient—don’t forget that,” Matthew snapped.

 

Barney could only stare in confusion. “Are you talking about…”

 

“I’m talking about you nuzzling up to Graham…telling him you believed he was innocent,” Matthew replied.

 

“There’s no harm in showing a bit of kindness. He’s treated like an animal here,” Barney replied honestly. “And he just looked so sad- I couldn’t help but-“

 

“He’s deranged, Barney. Wake up. He’s a killer and should be treated that way. Whatever you’re trying to do,” Matthew growled, “end it before I report you to Chilton.”

 

And on that note, Matthew promptly left the room, leaving Barney in a confused and startled state.

 

\-----

 

Dr Chilton sat at his desk reading the newest addition of Psychology Today magazine before he was interrupted by a harsh knocking on his office door. 

 

"Come in..." he called. 

Matthew opened the door and walked in, hands behind his back. 

 

"Nurse Brown...Take a seat," Chilton called, gesturing to the chair on the other side of the desk. 

"I won't be here for long. I'm just here to report an instance of inappropriate behavior I’ve witnessed.”

 

Chilton closed his magazine and set it aside, directing all attention to the nurse.

 

“I know we’re not supposed to have any sort of personal relationship with our patients,” Matthew began, “which includes friendly relationships if I remember correctly.”

 

Chilton nodded silently.

 

“I was watching the tapes on Will Graham’s cell and…I noticed one of the nurses having conversations with him after one of your sessions.”

 

Chilton furrowed his brow. “Really…” he mumbled.

 

“Trying to talk to him about his situation in the hospital…I thought it was a bit too personal over professional and wanted to report it to you,” Matthew finished.

 

“Who was this nurse?” Chilton asked.

 

“Nurse Barney Matthews, sir.”

 

Chilton’s confused expression melted immediately.

 

“You needn’t worry about Barney. He’s just gentle, he talks that way to everyone,” Chilton explained.

 

“B-But sir…”

 

“Barney is a fine nurse. The way he does his work is different than yours, but I wouldn’t be worried in the slightest. Thank you for your concern, Nurse Brown, but you have nothing to be concerned over. You’re dismissed,” Chilton claimed, picking up his magazine and continuing where he left off, leaving Matthew absolutely furious as he stormed out of the room, but taking effort to close the door as politely as he could.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matthew acts on his desires...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I'm the slowest writer ever. Here's chapter 4! Chapter 5 is on the way..

~ One week later ~

 

Matthew watched the security tapes again during his nightshift, specifically eyeing the camera pointed in Will’s cell. He watched as the raggedy man sat laid on the bed, tucked in a fetal position. Matthew could clearly see Will was awake because of his tense body language and uneven breathing. He carefully eyed the screen directly south to eye Barney walking down the hallway, crying a tray of medical equipment and heading to the storage closet. Matthew checked his wristwatch and eyed the schedule on the wall of all the employees. Barney will be just about heading home- it was the perfect time to initiate his plan. He slowly pressed a small red button, shutting off the camera on Will’s cell and the camera leading down the cellblock hallway.

 

He snuck quietly out of the security room and hurried down the hall, speed-walking into the medical wing and grabbing a gurney with a set of sheepskin restraints. He pushed the gurney down the hall while he set a duffle bag down on it and quickly unzipped it with one hand. He rushed the gurney down the hall and into the main cell block. He tried to be as quiet as possible in an effort to not wake of any of the other inmates in the cells before Will’s. Finally, he made it to the end of the block to Will’s cell, where he found him resting on his side in the same position that he left him in.

 

“Graham,” Matthew whispered, taking the key to his cell in his hand and opening the door quietly.

 

Will groaned in annoyance.

 

“Graham, come on. It’s uh…Chilton’s ordered another check-up,” Matthew told him.

 

“Ugh…fine,” Will groaned, slowly sitting up on the cot and rubbing his eyes. He groaned and looked up, noticing the duffle bag onto of the gurney labeled “M. Brown.”

 

“What’s that for?” Will asked, pointing to the duffle bag.

 

“Don’t ask questions. Come on, now. You’re gonna be late for your check up, Remember?” Matthew said, looking down the hallway nervously.

 

“...But I just had one yesterday,” Will barked back, sitting up and glaring at the nurse.

 

“Change of plans. It’s urgent. Now come on, you know the drill,” Matthew said, stepping through the door and holding a pair of unlocked handcuffs.

 

“Urgent? But I feel fine...and it’s almost 11…and Chilton doesn’t do night shifts,” Will mumbled, his eyes glancing back at the gurney behind Matthew.

 

“Don’t ask questions, come on,”

 

“This…This doesn’t feel right…”

 

“Get on the gurney, Will,” Matthew ordered. “We’re going for a ride.”

 

“What’s happening? What are you doing?” Will called, standing up.

 

Clearly he was confused and didn’t trust Matthew for a second.

 

“I said…get on the gurney, or I’ll have to use force.”

 

“HELP!” Will screamed, trying to call out to any other staff member nearby, but the hall was clear.

 

“HELP PL-“ he cried before Matthew pounced on him, holding a hand over his mouth with one hand and readying the syringe with the other hand. He then cried out in pain as Will promptly bit his hand and kicked him off, sending Matthew tumbling into the wall behind him. Will tried to get back on his feet, but Matthew easily recovered and yanked Will’s ankle, causing him to trip and fall on his stomach with a thud. The nurse grabbed Will’s hands and held them behind him, while he straddled him, sitting on his lower back. Before Will could pull his hands away, Matthew quickly handcuffed him, his hands uncomfortably positioned behind his back while he lied on his stomach on the concrete floor.

 

“I’m sorry, Will. I didn’t want to do this, but it’s for your own good,” he heard Matthew say as he groaned and tried to crank his head back as much as he could to see what the nurse was doing. It was then that he saw Matthew take out a full syringe and tapping it, releasing all the air bubbles.

 

“GET OFF M-” Will tried to scream, but Matthew’s hand clasped over Will’s mouth, silencing him. While Will tried to struggle or throw Matthew off him to no avail, Matthew used his other hand to steady the syringe and press it precisely into Will’s lower back. Will shrieked and violently thrashed under him, his wrists rubbing raw under the handcuffs.

 

“It’s alright, Will— You’re gonna start feeling a little sleepy- that’s all…” Matthew answered, setting the empty syringe down on the ground and letting go of Will’s mouth. “What the hell did you…did you do to…” Will cried out, but immediately found his eyelids becoming increasingly heavier and heavier and his body stop answering to his commands

 

“Take it easy, there we go,” Matthew hushed, getting to his feet and taking a step back. Will laid still, the side of his face pressed against the cold, concrete floor, his eyes filled with panic. Matthew got down on one knee, resting one hand over Will’s back to monitor his breathing and placing two fingers over Will’s neck to check his pulse. Will recoiled immediately.

 

“D’nt f’ckin touch m…” Will groaned, his voice straining and his vision blurring.

 

“Shhh…I’m going to take good care of you, Will. Just take a deep breath- you’re going to be alright.”

 

Will only whimpered in reply.

 

It was clear that Will was trying everything in his power to fight the drugs that were swarming through his system, but he was eventually overpowered and his eyes gently closed and his breathing regulated.

 

Matthew smiled and quickly removed the handcuffs, rolling Will on his back. All he could think was how beautiful the inmate was; his curly brown hair swept back, his soft, pale skin shimmering under the flickering ceiling lights, the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

Without wasting any time, Matthew lifted his patient up fire-fighter style and plopped him on the gurney. He tied down his arms and legs and threw a teal surgical sheet over him. He flung the duffle bag over his shoulder and shut the cell door, locking it behind him. He then rushed the gurney down the hall and through the doors. Several guards stood across the walls like tin soldiers and eyed Matthew and his captive suspiciously, but as Matthew nodded and showed them his badge, they nodded back and let him pass.

 

Matthew pushed the gurney down through the many halls and finally to the parking lot.

 

“Matthew?” A voice behind him rung.

 

Matthew spun around to find Barney, wrapped in his coat over his scrubs and a red scarf around his neck, clearly about to head home from work.

 

“Barney…” Matthew breathed.

 

“What’s this?” Barney asked, gesturing to the gurney, Will’s body being covered by the sheet. 

 

“Just um…a body- I’m transferring it to the morgue across town,” Matthew explained.

 

“A body?” Barney asked, clearly concerned. It was rare of the BSHCI to have any deaths in patients, especially with such an efficient staff of nurses and doctors on hand. “How did he die? Who is it?”

 

“Uh, heart attack…and nobody…” Matthew answered. “Now if you’ll excuse me,” he added, wheeling the gurney past Barney and back down the hall to the parking lot. Barney watched in confusion as he hurried away, clearly in a rush.

 

Barney raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off. Matthew had always been a little awkward at work, but he clearly had somewhere to go and Barney wouldn’t want to get in the way of whatever important work he was doing. He buttoned up his coat and headed back on his way.


End file.
